RAS question
As per the 74th Amendment, how many types of Municipalities are constituted?
Correct answer: (C) Three.
The 74th Amendment provides for three types of municipalities: Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation.
Explanation
The answer is three because Article 243Q, placed in Part IXA on municipalities, requires every State to constitute three municipal bodies for three kinds of urban area. A Nagar Panchayat is meant for a transitional area, meaning an area moving from rural to urban status. A Municipal Council is meant for a smaller urban area. A Municipal Corporation is meant for a larger urban area. The existing RAS explanation uses the common Rajasthan-style equivalents Nagar Palika for Municipal Council and Nagar Nigam for Municipal Corporation, but the constitutional classification remains the same: three categories, matched to the stage and scale of urbanisation.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Two is too few because Article 243Q separately lists Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation.
- (B) Five exceeds the constitutional classification, which specifies only three municipal bodies.
- (D) Four adds an extra category beyond the three bodies named in Article 243Q.
Concept
This tests urban local self-government under the 74th Amendment, especially the classification of municipalities in Part IXA. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan polity questions often check exact constitutional categories and their administrative use.